


*Confrontation

by zephyrus_0207



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Addressing Lance's death, Angst, I'm calling it death, I'm going full turkey, I'm sad writing this, Keith trying his best to be a good leader and friend, Lance's Altean Broadsword, Langst, M/M, Slow Burn, They love each other, Unrequited Love, but they're not there yet, falling in like, for the sake of this snipit, i'm sorry son, it's love, klangst, this is no longer a snipit
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-09
Updated: 2018-12-15
Packaged: 2019-08-21 03:18:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16568612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zephyrus_0207/pseuds/zephyrus_0207
Summary: *Unfinished*Lance has been acting out because he has not gotten over the fact that he opened up to Keith, the man who he disliked, and followed that up with him leaving Voltron first chance he got. And they clash weapons in an obscure training room. This takes place somewhere between Keith coming back but before they arrived at Earth.





	1. Chapter 1

“ Lance, if this is about the black lion you need to get over it!!”

Keith practically scolded as he clashed his Galrean blade against Lance’s sniper rifle, a weapon useless in close range.

_Is that what he really thinks this is about?!_

“ Yeah, okay, is that what you want to hear?!!”

Lance pushed back the tears that pleaded to be released, gripping the red Bayard, Keiths red Bayard, tighter not to lose any ground.

“That I’m mad that you’re the one the black lion chose?! Fine, it hurt okay?! It hurt that out of everyone you became our leader! That even now, everyone is looking at you and seeing everything that makes you so damn perfect!!”

Lance grits his teeth angrily, only wavering for a moment as he sees Keith’s expression waver between aggravation and something more somber…

“but you know what hurt even more?”

Lance isn’t yelling anymore, he doesn’t want to, because he’s not angry.

“Keith, you left the team, when we needed you here!!”

 _When I needed you_ , Lance so desperately wants to say. But instead he pushes back, what was once his sniper rifle now that slashes Keith back a few feet while sending his weapon flying. In his hands now is a broadsword that weighs heavier than his shame. At one point he would’ve shoved it in Keith’s face that he could wield the same weapon as him. But any pride that drew from such an idea was outweighed by everything only a seventh wheel would feel.

That takes Keith off guard, he’s not used to this, not used to Lance looking at him so helplessly. He stands in a lowered sword stance with his head already hanging in defeat, unwilling or unable to look him in the eye.

This wasn’t Lance…right? Lance was strong, Lance was capable, he didn’t let anything bother him. He adapted, balanced him when finding Shiro was the only thing that mattered. So… who was this standing before him?

“ You didn’t need me,” He reasons, “Shiro was our leader, I wasn’t, I could never be…” His words fail as he takes a deep breath, standing tall with a chest filled with self assured confidence. “Helping out the blade of Malmora was the best way to help Voltron. We didn’t need 6 paladins, and I was the best choice to leave.”

Lance closes his eyes for a moment, a wave a grief washing over him just as it it all those months ago.

“ If that’s what you want to believe. I just, wish that…” he words catch on what’s left of his pride, something begging him not to go through with it.

“ If I had know that was the last time I was going to see you, I would’ve properly said good bye.”

Something breaks.

“ Lance… I came back.” The only words he could muster.

“ No, not really, not to me at least” Lance stands up normally, but his head now turns away, looking more towards the wall than to the person standing in front of him. “Keith, we were friends before you left, at least I thought we were. You were…different, and when I found out how long you were gone exactly,” He almost winces at the memory. “It just made me realize how little I must’ve mattered to you if nothing about me now made you stop and look at me for even a second…”

Lance closes his eyes again, remembering how much it hurt when Keith just walked past him, that moment when he realized that the person he admired for so long was no longer standing there.

He sighs to himself, Keith’s Bayard transforming back to it’s dormant state as he stands there defeated.

“ it doesn’t matter now.” He admits. Everything he must’ve built up in this little fantasy of his, every witty comeback, every shared laugh, every stolen glance, all nothing.

“Lance-” Keith calls to him, stopping Lance in his tracks before he turns around. He doesn’t know what to say. There’s nothing that he can say in this moment that could ever make up for this kind of hurt. A hurt that he knows is all too familiar.

But letting him leave right now without a fight he knows will only widen the gap that he couldn’t even see that separates them further.

“ The way that I feel doesn’t matter. But something I’ve learned about you is that I can’t count on you to stay around long once we don’t need Voltron anymore.

_When you don’t need me anymore._

“That’s not going to happen.” The words spill from Keith’s mouth faster than he can process them.

“You sure about that Samurai?”

“You said it yourself didn’t you, that you thought I was the future.”

Keith takes a step forward, something warm beings to grow in his chest with every step he takes to try and bridge the gap.

“If you really believe that, then you have to know that I’m not going to just walk away like nothing ever happened Lance.”

He stops at an arms length between them.

“You and I are still here, nothing is going to change that no matter how much time passed between us, you have to know that I was always going to come back.”

Lance closes his eyes for a moment, smirking to himself as realizes why there’s nothing more to him that the armor he wears or the Bayard in his hand, why he’s trapped, fixated on the person in front of him. Not even noticing Keith reaching out towards his arm, his last effort to bridge the gap.

 

“I died Keith.”

 

For a fixed moment everything stops. 

Nothing moves.

Keith freezes as he hears Lance say it, those words now echoing in his head.

“Back on a mission, it was to protect Allura. I remember everything being dark, and then…I’m alive again, like nothing ever happened, not even a scar to remind me; Hey, Congrats, not even the after life needs a seventh wheel.” He smirks at his own joke as he lifts his head to look at Keith still standing there.

As Keith returns the look, he realizes that there isn’t a meeting, or a visor to separate their gaze. For the first time, he sees that the person before him is exhausted. Bags under his eyes along with hints that he’s stopped his nightly skin care regiments as he realizes that there’s no longer that spark of pride that he bore on his chest like a medal. That pride that always had to one up, back talk, and always challenge him on every damn thing he did.

For the first time, he realizes what Lance was talking about.

That as he started his life over again as he turned his back, leaving the team, rising in ranks, finding his mother of all people, getting back all that he believed he deserved.

Lance in one moment lost everything. He’d lost his spark, his Lion, his life and everything that came with it… all of it started with him walking out that door and never looking back.

But even now, Lance smiles, a mournful smile that tells him not to worry, that everything is going to be okay. He’s the one to breach that gap between them, to take that step towards him, right beside him as Lance grasps his shoulder.

No words needing to be said as the Blue Paladin walks away from him, leaving him to fall to his knees in defeat.

Realizing that strangers have no need to bridge a gap they never realized was there to begin with.


	2. Later

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance receives a visitor late in the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I WASN'T GOING TO CONTINUE THIS BUT DAMMIT S8 HAS PUSHED ME TO THE BRINK. I WILL GET MY KLANGST. THIS I SWEAR.

Hours before their mission, Lance sat in his room simply looking up at the ceiling, there was nothing more to do than just to wait for someone to call them.  Quickly, he grew restless with this wasted time, he sat up swinging his feet over the bed making his way towards the door. 

It was late but perhaps Hunk was- 

A step through the door he saw someone sitting across from him on the floor with a bundle of fluff sitting next to him. 

"Keith?" 

The Red Paladin lifted his head, scrambling to his feet as Kosmo lifted his head, wagging his tail at the sight of one of the people who sneaked him table scraps . 

"Lance..." 

They both averted their gaze from each other as Kosmo looked between the two curiously. 

"I'm just-"

"I wanted to-" 

They stumbled over their words. 

"Sorry, go ahead." Lance offered. 

"No, it's okay." Keith reassured, crossing his arms, but the two still stood awkwardly in the middle of the hall. It had been weeks since Lance confronted him on...everything, luckily the Galra had still been after their heads so it made hiding from Keith all the more easy. Which was a challenge in itself as he had been all over him at every spare moment they could manage. 

"...What are you doing up so late?" Lance asked. It was a dumb question, what else could Keith be doing outside his room in the middle of the night, taking a nap? Knowing Keith, probably. 

"Were you going somewhere?" Keith asked. 

Lance shook his head, " No, not really, just uh" He fidgeted with his hands behind his back, stammering furiously over his words.  "can't sleep is all. Because of the mission!" Lance abruptly retorted. " I, can't sleep, because... of, the mission. Tomorrow, the mission, that's, tomorrow."  

_Smooth, lover boy._

Lance internally cringed at himself as Keith tilted his head curiously at him. 

"Lance, about what you said the other day-" 

"OH WOW LOOK AT THE TIME, IT'S GETTING LATE GOOD NIGHT KEITH!" Almost reflexively he whipped his body around to go back into the room. 

"Lance-" 

Immediately he slammed the door in Keith's face as soon as he heard his voice. 

Lance sank to the floor with embarrassment flushed over his face, reddening his ears. 

Holy crap, he just slammed his door in Keith Kogane's face. Stupid soft mullet hair Kogane. 

" God dammit-AHH!!" A blue light flashed in his room, next thing he knew there was one Red Paladin standing over him and one space wolf licking his face. 

"Hi." Lance lifted his head as Kosmo nuzzled his face for affection. "So, how are you?"  he asked innocently. 

Keith just looked down at him with his dumb puppy dog eyes that somehow made him feel worse than he already did. As Kosmo held him hostage by laying on his lap, Keith knelt in front of him, the concern evident on his face. 

"I don't want to force you into anything Lance." Keith spoke softly, "But you can't expect me to forget about what happened, what you told me." 

Lance lowered his head, finding a sudden interest in petting Kosmo's fur, much to the wolf's delight as he wagged his tail. He took a deep breath, gazing as Keith again with uncertainty. No part of him ever wanted this, perhaps to have someone to confide about his problems, yeah; but there was never the expectation that they'd actually want to do something about it. After all, who would ever want to "fix" someone like him? 

"I know, and I'm sorry for putting that all on you. You don't deserve to have all that crap hanging over your head like that. It was just me overreacting and I guess, just missing you. I don't want you to have to worry about me when we've got the universe at our backs, one less wheel to worry about the better, right?" Lance tried to smile, but every part of him rejected such an action. 

Keith looked him over once, standing on his feet, and reaching out his arm to help him up. 

Lance accepted much to Kosmo's chagrin as the wolf now looked annoyed now that his pillow was gone. 

"This isn't about the team or the Galra, I just don't want you holding back so much Lance. You look down on yourself when you're out there risking your own butt just like the rest of us, putting your all into ensuring that we're not the ones getting shot at, and I don't think you realize how much we all actually rely on you for support. How much I need you to rely on. 

Lance noticed that Keith held his hand tighter as he said those words, not noticing the light shade of red that dusted Keith's face. 

"I haven't done as good of a job as I think I've been. I always thought that being a leader was only leading the team and ensuring that we all come back safe. But it's more than that, it's also knowing when to step down from that role. Lance, I want to do better, not as just a leader but as someone you can rely on."

"Keith, I..." Lance was at a loss for words, everything about this felt unearned their leader, here with hi in the middle of the night, offering more than he ever deserved. He pulled his hand back from Keith's grasp, a little part of him wincing at the loss of touch. 

"We don't have to talk about this now, but later? After the mission?" Keith smiled gently with a warm, hopeful expression on his face, noticing Lance's reaction, and choosing not to press him on the matter any further. 

Lance nodded as he lowered his head, the pit in his stomach growing deeper. He felt longing as Keith dropped their grasp, walking past him as Kosmo trotted past, his tail wagging. 

As the door closed behind, Lance held what little trace of warmth lingered on his hand. 

 

"Later." 

**Author's Note:**

> Fun fact: Late at night when I am dead tired I get ideas for head canons, most of which are angsty. And this one I thought about when I was listening to “All that Matters” by Casey Lee Williams and Jeff Williams (If ya’ll’re gonna read it then please listen to this) 
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8i92xOCdSKE 
> 
>  
> 
> If ya'll would like a contuation, please leave a comment below because quite frankly there needs to be some fluff


End file.
